Five Trazes
by Prophe-Cass
Summary: Five prisons, back in Zarkon's reign, were planned to hold the Paladins. Construction continued while in Sendak's rule. Now they were being put to use. Post Season 7, recovery fic!
1. Alpha Traz

Alpha Traz

* * *

 **I realized halfway through that Kinkade is similar to Lucius Hunt from The Village. I accidentally based Ryan off of Lucius. So…um…yay?**

* * *

It was times like this that Keith really hated his Galra genes.

While Galra genes protected him from really hot temperatures (like that volcano he went in last week…or was it last month? Last year? He wasn't sure anymore) it made him especially exposed to cold. It didn't help that his thermal-armor was removed when he was thrown into this refrigerator. (Not an actual refrigerator, but close enough.)

Also, the warden imprisoning him here was a Galra himself, and he bore the knowledge of what Galra could withstand.

And of course the Galra also found out that Keith was half-Galra.

Keith shivered, drawing his arms tighter against his body, rubbing it as fast as he could, letting out a haggard cough as his breath, a tiny bit of warmth, disappeared into the icy room.

He was trapped in a cube-shaped cell with only enough room to stand and pace two steps in any direction. The walls and ceiling were literally made of ice sheets, making Keith believe that the rest of the room surrounding his box-prison was the temperature of a freezer.

His only source of water was the ice, and his only food that he had was the little bit the warden put in his cell every few hours…days? Weeks?

He wasn't sure how long he had sat here, waiting for the warden to return, all he knew was that he shouldn't fall asleep, though he couldn't help nodding off.

Back on Earth, his record was ten days, before he even learned of his heritage.

After he discovered his parentage, on the castle, his record was fifteen days, but here the cold made him drowsy, and he fell asleep often.

Every time sleep over took him, he worried that it was the last time he would be awake…but he was always jolted awake suddenly, gasping for breath as if he had a nightmare.

He really wanted the others to come to save him…

* * *

Eventually they did.

James Griffen, the leader of the Griffen Squadron, arrived with Nadia Rizavi, one of his devote companions and commander of the Dragon Squadron, Ryan Kinkade, his best friend and captain of the Phoenix Squadron, and Ina Leifsdottir, his girlfriend and general of the Sphinx Squadron.

The four hurried along the dark corridors, their feet rattling out of place on the metal floor.

The paused at an intersection, all four ducking into side rooms to avoid a group of sentries marching past them.

As soon as the patrol passed, James and his companions walked from the shadows, glancing at Ina.

"Alright, which way?" Nadia asked, pulling her pistol from her holster.

Ina pursed her lips, her hands clutching an Altean pad which generated a holo-screen.

"Hmm. Left."

"Got it." James nodded, leading his group towards the left. "You think he'll still be…um…kicking when he find him?"

"Don't wish ill on him." Ryan said, voice warning as he carefully shifted his grip on his scythe.

"I wasn't, I wasn't." James protested, before remembering to keep his voice down. "Just wondering."

Ina sighed lightly, gesturing to them that she could hear more sentries.

The magnets on their boots helped them stoop on the ceiling, watching the sentries march under them in a rhythmic pattern.

In the next moment, their jetpacks fired and they were on the ground, on the move again, traveling in silence save the ringing echo of their footprints.

"Leifsdottir." James hissed when they arrived at a corridor filled with doors of all sizes.

"Fourth smallest door, seventh to the right. Hacking in will be nearly impossible, needs facial recognition. However, given a few hours, it would work perfectly, and-"

"We don't have hours. What face does it need?"

"Likely the warden's."

"Of course." James sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Then let's do and drag his purple noggin over here." Nadia grinned, letting her gun hum with a pulse of energy as she held it to her chest.

Ryan huffed at her suggestion, clutching his scythe and stabbing it into the door.

"Woah!"

"Dude!"

Ryan just glanced at them, pulling the scythe's hand violently across the door once more.

"He could be right on the other side!" James roared, grabbing the scythe.

Ryan arched an eyebrow at his overreaction, and his smaller friend remembered his ability to be quite gentle when breaking things down.

"Right…" James nodded hesitantly, picking up on Ryan's unspoken words as he slowly released the weapon.

The three other MFEs looked doubtful, Ina fiddling with her gauntlet which should send electric shocks. It had been dubbed "Widow's Sting" by Nadia long ago.

Nadia probably would have adjusted her glasses if her helmet was off.

James still stood close to the door, eyeing Ryan as he destroyed the door.

The blast of cold air was enough to make the four of them stumble back several steps, all of them shivering through their suits.

"Oh my gosh…"

James was the first to get a good look in, staring at the limp body inside.

Keith, who was imprisoned in the ice box, had his head tilted and resting on his chest, his legs stretched out across the floor. His arms were laying on his lap, dark bags under his eyes.

"Dang." Nadia gapped.

"This is an unfortunate turn of events." Ina announced.

There was dead silence for about three seconds and then a loud alarm rang through the halls, echoing off the walls.

Ryan raised his head, tilting his head towards the speakers. He pushed his scythe into James' hands, his leader pushing his rifle into it's container on his back. Ryan reached up and picked Keith up in one fell swoop, his arms under Keith's shoulders and knees.

"Let us go." He said shortly, jerking his head pointedly.

"Right. Leif, you and Kinkade go ahead; Rizavi and I'll stay back and hold of the sentries."

Ryan and Ina both gave a curt nod, pivoting and walking in the other direction, towards the MFEs.

James and Nadia lingered in their position, risking a few looks over their shoulders at the two going ahead.

The two guardians of Keith broke into a run, feet hammering against the ground. Their comrades followed more slowly, keeping their blasters close.

It wasn't long before the first wave of sentries overwhelmed them from both ends, driving them all towards each other again.

Ryan put Keith down, leaning him against a wall, so that he could fight better without having to worry about the unresponsive Paladin.

Nadia, her aim precise, nailed sentries out with practiced ease, at most only needing to hit a sentry ten times before it collapsed.

James's rifle couldn't do much at close distance, so he proceeded to use Ryan's scythe, his movements with it faltering slightly, and he often had to recruit Ina's help so she could zap them.

Ryan turned to more gruesome methods of destroying them, such as ripping off her arms like Chewbacca or colliding their head together until they dented painfully.

It took a bit, but eventually the four cleared a path through the sentries.

"Move it!" Nadia ordered, holding the sentries back with her gun.

The three tore away, arriving with a screeching halt as more sentries bore down on them, their guns charging with electric venom.

James and Ina activated their shields, which had been updated into their suits recently, using them to guard Ryan and Keith.

"We will approximately last two more waves before our bodies give in from overexerting ourselves." Ina deadpanned.

"Not now, Leif." James growled, knocking the legs out from one robot while destroying another.

Ina blinked, slightly offended by his rebuffing manner, but stayed silently, shocking a sentry with her wrist's taser.

Suddenly, a orange laser, that wasn't from their weapons, soared through the air and struck a sentry dead middle.

A smoking hole was now where its power core usually was, and it tumbled over.

In the next moment, ten more shorts were fired, hitting each robot dead on.

As the last one toppled over, it revealed the source of the shots, all three scowling slightly.

"Veronica." James groaned, glaring. "You were supposed to stay with the MFEs."

"I got bored." Veronica sarcastically remarked, packing away the laser gun. "I figured you needed help."

"We had it." James snarled.

"It looked to me like you were being blasted to bits. Besides, the Phoenix Squadron were doing just fine defending our ships without my help." Veronica frowned, a crevice appearing between her eyebrows. "Where's Officer Rizavi?"

"I'm here!" Nadia ran up to them, panting slightly. "I just took care of the last of them, but there's more coming."

"Come, then. We need to get out of here before the other three squads decide to destroy this base without waiting for the all clear."

"You should have stayed with the others." James told her, keeping pace with the older woman.

"What are you talking about?" Veronica growled. "You weren't doing so hot without me."

"I don't want us to rescue Lance just to have lost you!" James snapped back.

"You're just like my brother." Veronica grumbled, glancing at him. "So knock it off."

James bit the inside of his lip, letting her lead. He didn't protest any longer, but he really had to talk to Captain Shirogane about Veronica breaking protocol.

The woman ahead of him kept her quantum destabilizer - an invention partly by Acxa, but mostly by Ina, Krolia, and Pidge before she was captured - close to her side, hair pulled into a low ponytail and her former glasses traded in for contacts. Her lips were pursed with thought, the alarms blaring around them ignored.

"Are your emotions calm, or sketchy?" Ina asked, jogging up to him as she replaced the cartridges on her gauntlet. She was asking if he was okay.

"I dunno. Sketchy." James shrugged, glancing at her. "You?"

"Hmm…" Ina thought for a brief moment. "Frantic to escape."

"Yeah, me too." James checked behind him, Nadia guarding behind them and Ryan cradling Keith. A horrified thought occurred to him, and he gasped. "Kinkade, did we check for a pulse?"

Ryan, who usually thought these things through, looking startled by his query. He didn't speak, but James could tell by the fumbling of his arm around the Black Paladin's shoulders that he was searching for a pulse.

His fingers found the neck, and they bent around the jumpsuit, pulling the collar down and then resumed looking.

Ryan shook his head slightly to himself, stomach clenching at the coldness of Keith's skin. While he doubted that it was due to the hold of death, he worried that Keith had been frozen, like a human Popsicle. Nadia would have laughed at the expression.

Eventually he found the faint, fluttering beat of the man's heart, and he lifted his eyes to look at James, who, despite power-walking, was looking behind him desperately at Ryan.

Ryan bestowed a calm nod upon him, and James' shoulders relaxed slightly, before Veronica interrupted.

"Everyone, it's only a few more turns. _Run_." She hissed, waving them on.

Ina was close behind, James at her heels. Ryan shuffled along with Keith, and finally Nadia took the rear, eyes searching the shadows.

Three turns later, they skidded into the hanger containing half of Ryan's battalion of soldier/pilots by name of the Phoenix Squadron, and the four MFE ships.

"Keith is riding with Leifsdottir." Veronica ordered. "She has the highest marks for medical procedures, and her ship had the most monitors. Oh, and I'm riding with Kinkade."

Ryan, though he didn't show it, was flattered that she chose him. Then again, she always chose him. She mentioned once, and once was enough, that he knew how to hold his tongue. He was proud of that, and was silently thankful that she didn't speak when they were flying together. It was silence that Kinkade liked and preferred. He loved his friends, but…did Nadia always have to be so loud? And James for that matter? And Ina? Actually, scratch Ina. She didn't talk as much as the other two.

A group of sentries burst through the door, and Veronica immediately opened fire, the quantum destabilizer humming with energy.

"Get Keith into Leif's ship!" She howled, growling with effort as a laser bolt clipped her side.

Ryan obeyed her order, Ina hooking monitors up to Keith which could read his heartbeat. She had to find Keith's heart to plug it in, because, apparently, Galra's hearts were on the right so Keith's ended up somewhere in the middle. How he got into the Garrison with such a strange condition, nobody knew.

Veronica waited until most of the ships had left the hanger, when Ryan's was the last one to leave, to turn away from the sentries milling about.

She didn't get in until his MFE rumbled with life, then she was quick to jump in.

The ship tore from the base, and the four squadrons, the Griffen, Phoenix, Dragon, and Sphynx units opened fire, the fury for taking the beloved Black Paladin roaring in their veins.

* * *

"Will he be alright?" Shiro asked, standing at Krolia's right as she squeezed her son's hand. It was withered, so tiny in her grasp.

His face was sickly pale, and his ribs showed.

He was laying on top of about ten orange quilts, and seventeen more were wrapped around him. According to Krolia, this was the only cure for coldness to Galra. That as well as warm food and drinks when he woke up. Also, Krolia was plugged into an IV, giving her blood to her son.

Monitors were plugged into or laid on top of the skin layering every vital organ.

His heart was beating, faintly, out of whack, and his breathing was so shallow, it could hardly be seen.

"Krolia." Shiro's voice held a tone of warning to it, tears pricking his eyes. "Will he be okay?"

"I…" Krolia slammed her hand down on the floor beside her son, snarling slightly. From the pain of the impact or from frustration, Shiro wasn't sure. "I don't know anymore. He would recover quicker if only we got the healing pod operational. But instead he's stuck just laying here. According to Leifsdottir, the security footage reports that he was in below-zero temperatures for the entire two weeks. The shock will effect him harder then the cold did, and…" she turned to face Shiro, eyes ripping into his soul. "How could you let this happen?"

Shiro took a step back, surprised by her outburst.

"He's human, he's weak!" She shouted, standing up to face him head-on. "He may never properly recover, and it's all your fault! The others might be even worse off; they might be dead! And all because you failed them!"

"C-cold…"

Both froze, latching their gazes onto Keith, who shivered slightly underneath the quilts. "P-pl-please…n-no m-more…"

Krolia gasped, collapsing to her knees beside him. The two pairs of purple eyes met, Keith's twitching and shrunk to the side of poppy seeds.

"Keith, it's Krolia. You're safe. Commander Blawnk can't hurt you now."

"Mmm…c-cold…"

Shiro and Krolia were already ladling him with all the excess blankets in the room, Shiro going as far as to leave the room to grab more quilts for him.

Krolia rearranged the blankets around him, noticing immediately when he drifted off again, eyes closing drowsily.

Shiro returned with Kolivan, the two bearing at least twenty more blankets between them.

Krolia carefully picked up Keith, laying him on the Queen-sized bed squished into the corner of the room.

Shiro and Kolivan covered him in the excess quits, Veronica bringing in a heater into the room.

The ice in Keith's mullet was finally beginning to thaw, and Krolia combed the hair from his eyes, sighing slightly. "I'm sorry, Shiro." She said, glancing up at the captain. "I know that you weren't even there during the mission, that it was done behind your back. I just…I don't want to blame my son's pain on my son."

"I understand." Shiro said gently, his floating hand resting against her back. "I would like nothing more to shoulder the blame of this on my back, but I can't." He dipped his head, fighting back tears. "I just want my younger brother to be okay."

* * *

 **Author's Note; This might actually not make people review…I know because when I read a story, I sometimes ignored these headings…but…**

 **Please Read and Review!**


	2. Beta Traz

Beta Traz

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 **Author's Note; Guys. Guys. Do you know how much I love you? I stayed up all night writing most of this chapter. By six, I was running only on three cups of chocolate milk, three cups of soda, and a whole lot of sugar. Also popcorn. When I finally decided to head to bed, the screen was going out of whack and it was blurring in front of my eyes. Usually my all nights don't go as crazy as that, but this time it did. But still I stayed up…because I love ya'll.**

* * *

Lance was a very social person, and generally nice in nature. He simply adored being around others, and he cursed himself for being so nice with his guard, who quickly discovered his habits and reported to his commanding officer. That's how he ended up in Beta Traz.

Now, one might expect him to remember his way around the place, to remember how to get out of this situation.

If someone did expect him to get out of this himself, they were idiots.

Lance had the memory of a goldfish.

The warden, as could be expected, remembered Lance's skinny face, and he had a welcome committee for him; a big, fat cell devoid of living personal.

Not even a Yupper to sooth his anxiety. Oh, yeah, they also broke his right arm. His dominant arm. His shooting arm.

No big deal.

It was the loneliness that got to him.

After about a week of having no company except for the sentries cloaked in silence, Lance was about ready to climb up a wall.

The only thing that was keeping him sane was imagining when he next saw Keith. He would kick him in the shins and say "Quiznak you." He would also tease Pidge for not seeing the trap coming, and he would bless Hunk for his careful nature, and he'd finally see…

Allura. Even her name filled him with love.

Allura.

Allura.

Allura.

Everyday the sentries knocked him unconscious because he put up a fight. A concussion was starting to form, he was certain. Everyday the memory of his companions grew fuzzy.

But he remembered Allura.

He scratched her name into the floor with his metal spoon, a heart around it. He whispered her name like a prayer and he cried it at nights in his sleep. He wouldn't forget her. No matter what.

* * *

"What-?! That's so unfair!" Veronica yelled. "This is my brother we're talking about! I should be aloud to-"

"Veronica, you're not coming." Shiro whirled around, stopping the woman in her tracks.

Veronica closed her mouth from another protest, hurt flashing across her features.

Shiro's brow softened as he looked at her, smiling slightly. "This isn't punishment, Veronica. I know my way around Beta Traz because I've went there before. But I can't just leave the Atlas here unprotected. I need someone I can trust to guard it for me. Your brother is my teammate, and he trusts you, so I trust you. Can I trust you to look after the Atlas in the name of Lance?"

"I-" Veronica hesitated, before clasping his extended arm in her's. "I will. In the name of Lance, I solemnly promise to take care of the Atlas."

"Thank you." Shiro smiled, beginning to turn away. He realized with a start that his arm remained in Veronica's grasp, and he glanced back at her.

Her pleading eyes bored into his, looking sorrowful. "Bring my baby brother home safe, okay?"

Shiro nodded curtly, feeling a fuzzy warmth spread in his chest. "Of course, Veronica. Paladins's honor."

Only then did she release his arm, reproachfully watching them leave.

A hand on her shoulder greeted her, and she found herself gazing into Krolia's motherly eyes.

She smiled shyly at the older women and watched the five leave.

Nadia looked over her shoulder, offering her a salute.

Veronica nodded back, and Nadia hurried after the others.

Shiro climbed in the seat behind Ina, waiting patiently for the engines to begin.

"All systems accounted for." Ina breathed into the coms, her voice calm.

"Thanks, Leifsdottir. Kinkade?" James confirmed, his voice holding a tone of authority to it.

"Mm."

"Good. Nadia?"

"This puppy is ready to fly. Let's go get us some Paladin."

"This isn't a game, Nadia. Keep your head on the ground."

A sigh. "Fine."

Ina glanced back at Shiro, nodding slightly as she took him in. With a simple gesture of her hand, she told him to brace himself, it was time for liftoff.

All four MFEs launched, the Griffen Squadron in tow. The other three groups would come after them later on, hidden in the stealth mode that the engineers of the ships had constructed into the inner workings.

Ina sent a blast which would disrupt interference in the drones and cameras, and hacked the bay door open.

The entire group went in, landing silently in the hanger.

"Before we head out," Shiro began, speaking into the coms, "avoid the warden unless absolutely necessary. He's basically Hulk with two extra fists. A lot smarter, too."

Nadia chuckled at the expression.

"Yessir." James responded.

Ryan remained silent. Shiro could only assume he nodded.

Ina gave him a thumbs-up.

Another reason that Shiro wanted to go with them is that they reminded him of the Voltron team originally, before he died and before they realized that defending the universe wasn't a part time job.

Nadia was Lance's feminine version, her cocky smile undistinguishable from his. She would make a fine Blue Paladin.

James's temper was similar to that of Keith's, but Shiro saw greatness inside both of them. The only difference in personality was that James talked a bit more and that he honored the chain of command. Like Keith, he wouldn't like to lead the MFEs properly; he would rather someone tell him what to do. Like a good Red Paladin. Maybe one day Black.

Ryan matched Hunk's strength, and, despite using only communicating in disappointed glares and grunts, he was kind when he let his proper emotions show. An excellent match for the Yellow Lion.

And Ina… heck, whenever Shiro looked at her, he saw brown-Amber eyes instead of grey ones, short brown hair instead of tiny blond hair. She was Pidge except with different looks. Green Paladin without a doubt.

Shiro felt almost like his old, before-death self with them, and he smiled whenever they did something in character.

Nadia leapt out of her cockpit, doing a front-flip while in the air and landing on her feet. She put them together and stuck out her arms like an Olympic gymnastic. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night!" She said to nobody in particular.

James sighed, shaking his head, and Ina frowned, looking at her toes. Ryan didn't speak, just looked at her simply.

"Alright, you four, come with me." Shiro said, leading the way towards the doors. Luckily, even though he had to whisper to ensure the sound waves didn't make it past his helmet, his radio carried his voice to them, and they nodded, following. "There are two cells in this building. Since I was last here, they might have changed who has the most important prisoner. So Kinkade with Rizavi and I'll go with Griffen."

"Which group shall I accompany?" Ina asked, fiddling with her gauntlet.

"You, Leifsdottir-" Shiro felt as though he was forgetting something crucial. Why had he set Ina aside? Man, she sounded so much like Katie…

Ah, that's right. That's what he was forgetting. "I need you to get to the command center. Actually, Griffen, you go with her. I need you two to get to the command centers; Leif, hack into the first one you get to. Griffen, the station that controls the third level is in a different place then the other one."

"We can't get in from the command center?" James blinked.

"It's a security measure. Anyway, plug Leif in, and then come back to her. You should get a security read from the third level, and try to determine which cell we go to."

Shiro pulled out a chip that had thankfully been downloaded from the Castle into Commander Holt's ship. It had taken a bit of searching, but he had found all the tricks that Pidge had used to hack into Beta Traz previously. "This is all the information from our previous trip here. Send us the facial recognition of the warden once you find it; it's much easier then breaking in, and it won't send off the alarms."

Ryan smiled very briefly and nodded, once. He understood who the teasing gesture was aimed at.

"Alright; let's go." Shiro branched off with his team, hurrying away. James and Ina hesitated for a brief moment, looking at each other.

"No longing gazes shall be bestowed upon each other." Ina sighed, sounding disappointed. "This is an important part in the mission we are performing, and we can't afford to fail."

"Right. Let's go." James ignored the urge to grab her hand, and he led her away.

Ina followed him, putting the chip into her Atlean pad. She stuffed it into a pocket on her suit and resumed running.

Nadia, in the meantime, kept pace with the two larger men, encouraging her legs to pump faster.

She barely kept up with them as Shiro led them to a sharp turn, taking a running leap and smashing the heads of two sentries into the ground.

"Reached command station." Ina's smooth voice came through, a few beeps shoving their way past the coms.

"Moving to the second control unit." James murmured at about the same time.

"Alright. Leifsdottir, open up all the doors leading to the cells. In the first and second floors."

"Affirmative."

"Griffen, get to the third level control center as quickly as possible."

"Is it just me or is this place less guarded then AT?" Nadia asked,

Shiro and Ryan glancing at her. "AT…Alpha Traz? You know, the last prison?"

Ryan nodded slowly.

"It might be." Shiro admitted, hardly breaking a sweat as he forced himself to run even quicker. "According to the information this is the least guarded of the five. Unfortunately, the low-key guard duty won't last for long, especially when they realize we're targeting these bases specifically."

"Makes enough sense." Nadia nodded, looking down a hallway they passed in a hurry. Five sentries stood in it, but they didn't appear to take much notice of the three intruders.

Ryan sliced through a sentry that was standing in the hall before them, and they continued running. Ryan had not even bothered to put away his weapon.

"Alright. We're at the elevator to the third floor. Get us in, Leifsdottir."

"Stand by." Ina ordered, humming. "Griff?"

"I've arrived. Tell me where to plug the chip."

"Second holder to the right of the containment unit."

"Oddly specific. Hold on." There was a slight rummaging sound, and James cursed softly in Atlean. "Alright, plugged in."

"Excellent. Bestow me with half a minute."

"Make those seconds count." Shiro ordered, glancing at the elevator hopefully.

"Hacking. I have reached access to the third sector."

"Alright."

"Copy that, Leif." Nadia nodded, grinning at her invisible friend. "So…anytime you happen to get the doors open is good with me."

Ina didn't grave that retort with a response. Instead, the doors beside them buzzed open.

"Thanks!" Nadia grinned, following her quite companion into the elevator. Shiro moved more slowly after them, glancing behind him before stepping into the box.

"Your gratitude is accepted."

If Nadia hadn't been friends with Ina for the last four years, she would have had next to no idea what in the world Ina had just said.

However, she was friends with Ina, so she knew exactly what she said.

"No problem, Leif." She beamed. "Now can you take us to level three?" Shiro asked, and the elevator began to move instantly.

"Hey…that's new." James' voice came through the coms.

"What?"

"They've added electric surges to the security. Basically, there's two minutes in between each surge, starting as soon as the alarms are set off. The only safe spots are a few specially built "safe rooms", the cells, and the elevator."

"Avoid erecting the security system at all costs; it is vital so that we escape without alerting the guards."

"Right." Shiro seemed to speed up a little quicker, and Nadia mimicked him, Ryan falling behind to guard their escape from sentries.

"Alright; time to split up." Shiro curved to the left and Nadia to the right, both running hard.

"It appears you have arrived at the containment units." Ina murmured. "I am currently downloading the 3-D render of the warden's face to you."

Shiro and Nadia both sent up a silent blessing to Pidge for being thoughtful enough to save the blue-print of his face.

As soon as the door opened in front of Nadia, she stepped in, avoiding a prison tray of sticky gruel and polluted water.

"Ew." She wrinkled her nose, spotting the raised platform a few feet in front of her.

"I accidentally got Laika. Rizavi?"

She stepped around the metal box-bed thing and gasped, taking a step back. "I…I…"

"Rizavi?" Shiro asked, breath catching.

"I…" She took in the sight before her, a deep breath in route. "I…I dunno Cap'. He's…"

Lance was laying pretty still, curled in the futile position. His arm was twisted in a weird position, his eyes forced shut. Nadia did her best to ignore the word 'Allura' scribbled across the floor. She also ignored how the most recent marks was spelled 'Uhlaura'.

Huh.

"…he doesn't look too terribly good, Captain." Nadia finally finished, shaking her head. "You'd have to see for himself."

"I'm already heading to your position." Shiro's voice was strained, worried, even.

Nadia checked Lance out, biting her lip. Before the Garrison, her parents had tried to enroll her in doctor school, but she had refused. (Probably more profusely then she needed to, but whatever.) So, because of this, she knew some basic methods.

She knew immediately Lance's arm was broken before she even began to feel around. She discovered pretty quickly a few…dozen concussions - only two concussions, actually- and could tell that his ankles had been sprained.

Shiro arrived minutes later, staring down at the two in horror.

"I don't know what to do." Nadia choked out, stepping back from Lance weakly. "Broken arm, concussions, and a sprained ankle."

Shiro shuffled over to Lance, checking his spine and for a pulse immediately. "Has he been awake at all? Said anything?"

Dang.

Had he been awake?

Probably not.

He hadn't said anything, then.

Nadia couldn't remember.

This is why she would make a terrible doctor! She panicked in these situations!

"I don't believe so, sir." She responded, biting the inside of her lip.

"Alright. Let's get him up." Shiro put one arm under Lance's knees and his floating hand under his back.

"Mm." Lance twitched with pain, eyelids fluttering slightly as they fixed their pain-filled gaze on Shiro. "'llura?"

"Um…" Shiro paused, looking down at him. He was very tempted to correct him, but he seemed to want to be right so badly.

"Yes." Nadia appeared to reach the same conclusion as Shiro, still panicking, but a bit calmer now that her commander had things in control. "Allura's back at the IGF-ATLAS. She's waiting, and needs you to hold on just a wee bit longer, m'kay, buddy?"

"'llura." Lance responded, blinking slowly up at her.

Shiro blinked at the scratch marks in the ground, shaking his head. "And I thought his original obsession was as bad as it could get." Shiro chuckled, as if there was an light to be found in the situation.

Nadia nodded at him, and they rushed out quickly, joining up with Ryan as fast as possible.

Ryan looked down at Lance and simply nodded, noting how the boy's head lolled back against Shiro's forearm and the way his hand was held in a broken position.

"Leifsdottir, prepare for an immediate evac." He ordered, pivoting and pulling both of them after him.

"Affirmative." Ina responded, the sounds of her preparing to leave filling the coms.

Shiro get Lance cradled close to his chest, pausing only in the elevator.

"Is he alright?" Asked Nadia, stopping over him to take a good look at him.

Shiro held him all the more closely, shaking his head. "I don't know. Something tells me he'll be better when we get him home and find Allura."

"'llura." Lance murmured.

Everyone started, jumping slightly as they expected that he was unconscious.

Ryan, peering down at him suspiciously, arched an eyebrow in disapproval.

The elevator fluttered open, and they charged out.

Shiro was already running, panting slightly from the effort.

"Alright, everyone. Leif has found a way to quarantine all hostilities. Until they override the lock, you'll have clear entry from here to Timbuktu." James's reported, most likely saluting.

"Thank you. Get to the MFEs and start them all up. Order the Griffen flight unit to get out and prepare to open fire with the other three. Get ready. Lance isn't acting too well."

"'llura." Lance groaned.

"Yep. Not doin' well." Shiro confirmed, turning down another hall.

"Copy. Leif, you ready?"

"Indeed. Let us retreat." Ina turned, the first one out the door. She clutched the chip so hard in her fists that her knuckles turned white.

James chased after her, remembering to grab the Altean pad. Sometimes Ina could be so unobservant and inattentive… wait, were those the same adjective?

"You are correct." Ina nodded. "They are technically the same."

It was uncanny how she could read his mind.

"That is a interesting conclusion." Ina assured him.

How'd she know?!

"You communicate more then you think."

Oh. Wait, did he speak that aloud too?

By the way Ina chuckled, yes. Yes he did.

Ina rolled her eyes playfully at his obliviousness, ducking into the hanger. She started Nadia and Ryan's MFEs first with James' help.

Then they leapt into their own.

In the next few minutes, the four others charged in.

Shiro shoved Lance, somewhat roughly, into Ina's ship before bounding in a quick sweep into James' ship.

James now, in turn, looked proud.

Then again, maybe he didn't. But Ina could read him like a book.

So maybe he didn't look that way, but she knew he was quite pleased with himself. It was a complicated situation.

She glanced behind her, plugging the final monitors into Lance.

And finally, finally they brought him home.

* * *

"Allura…" Lance gasped. Like Keith, whenever he woke up his pupils quivered and he panted like he was crazy. "'L-llura…"

"You…you found him like this?" Veronica's voice quavered as she gazed down at her brother's terrified expression.

"I'm afraid so." James put a hand on her shoulder, startling her slightly. "I know he doesn't look like…well, Lance, but I'm sure he'll recover. Look at how much better Keith has become in the first day we've found him!"

"You're right." Veronica concluded, hugging her quaking brother in her arms. "I just…he's my brother. My little baby brother. He can't just…die on us. He's hardly an adult! He doesn't even realize that he's aged five years since he first left Earth. I just…don't know what to do."

James wasn't sure if he was about to say 'For once in your life.' Or 'It'll be okay.'

Either way, he didn't get to, because a blue haired, blue skinned woman burst through the door. "Where's Keith?!" She snarled, standing akimbo.

"Next room." Veronica pointed, startled.

"You okay, Acxa?" James blinked at the new comer.

"Of course not. Bye." With that, she charged out, messily closing the door behind her as she searched for her boyfriend.

James blinked.

Veronica stared.

"Okeeeeeey." Veronica drew out the word, sighing. "Thank you, James, for getting Lance out of there. If he had stayed there for any longer, I'm not sure what I would do."

"Don't worry." James said gently, placing a hand to her back. "Keith is repairing, so Lance'll repair, too. We'll find the others, and they'll be fixed right up as well."

"Thank you, James." Veronica smiled, though sorrow still was bunched up behind her eyes.

* * *

 **Alright, everybody! I'm accepting a voting committee.**

 **Who do YOU want the next chapter to be about? Don't vote with people, but vote for prisons, or else it won't count. The options are Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon.**

 **Gamma is Hunk.**

 **Delta is Allura.**

 **Epsilon is Pidge.**

 **Voting ends on Tuesday, 10/9/18**

 **Please review!**


	3. Gamma Traz

**Epsilon = IIII**

 **Gamma = IIII**

 **Delta = III**

 **Since I have the most inspiration for Gamma, it goes in order, and it was a tie, Gamma will be released first.**

* * *

Hunk rubbed his leg, blinking back the tears as they filled his eyes.

The tray of food was hardly five feet away, but he couldn't - nay, shouldn't - eat. It seemed that every time he put a morsel of food in his mouth, it turned out to be laced with painful drugs or vile poisons.

It was stupid.

Even if they weren't poisoned and actually helped him regain his strength, there was no way he could escape. The elevator that the sentries and the Galra commander used to get down to him only accepted Galra handprints.

He was also in a metal pit with perfectly smooth walls. The only other option to get out was a tiny ladder built along the wall, leading up to the beam of light about twenty feet up.

The ladder was too weak to support his weight; and even if it was strong enough, when they had thrown him down, his leg had broken.

He wished Keith was here.

The weirdest thing about Keith they had ever learned was that he was an awesome medic. He knew how to take care of everything from broken legs to fevers to kidney disease.

If Keith were here, he would be able to take care of Hunk's leg. Was that selfish? Hunk wasn't sure.

The room was always stuffy, and sometimes he couldn't even sleep.

As if there was much to do other then sleep.

He couldn't even talk to himself because the Galra had somehow injured his voice box.

His love for them and learning about their culture had died the moment they threw him down here.

This situation stunk.

* * *

"You know…" Nadia grinned into the MFE's camera, catching the looks of disinterest upon her friends' faces. She didn't care. She wanted to tell them this.

James glanced over at her, completely annoyed, but he listened anyway. Because he was a good friend.

"I expected Gamma Traz to be housing Pidge instead of Hunk." Nadia announced, beaming at her friends because of her cleverness. "Cause, I mean, Gamma Radiation is green in Marvel and she's the Green Paladin. Also, green and Gamma both start with a 'G'."

"Gamma is the equivalent to yellow in some European countries." Ina sniffed, not quite following Nadia's logic. "As an addition to that extra tidbit of trivia, Gamma Radiation is technically invisible to the human eye-"

"Yeah, no. Don't really care, Leif. I was just pointing out something I noticed, you don't have to ruin it with nerdy words."

Ina blinked slowly at her, but didn't make any other response.

"Alright, team. That's enough. On another note, this time we're trying to go for 'no alarms'." James announced, curling his fingers around his joystick.

"Hey, I thought yesterday was a success." Nadia frowned.

"It wasn't. Just as we left alarms began going off. Besides, the only reason we escaped with our lives was because Leifsdottir trapped the guards in different areas of the building then where we were."

"Right…so we're trying to be discreet this time?" Nadia clarified, tilting her head.

"That's right. Up to the challenge?"

Nadia hesitated, and there was a beat or two of silence. "You know silence isn't my strong suit, Griff."

"Rizavi." Ryan's level voice came through the coms, startling everyone slightly. "You can have a sleepover with Leifsdottir tonight if you keep silent."

Nadia's eyes widened, and she looked at Ina curiously.

Ina, knowing better then to argue with Ryan, nodded slowly. Who cared that she had plans for tonight?

"Alright, you three." James sighed, breaking up the conversation. "Let's latch onto one of the emergency airlocks each."

His MFE swerved and latched onto the nearest airlock, the others following in suit.

Luckily, the airlocks were all in a row so that, when they left the MFEs, they met up within two minutes.

"Alright, stealth time. Leif, work your magic." James ordered, bringing his voice down to a whisper.

His girlfriend nodded as she plugged a cord from her Widow's Sting into the panel next to them, gaining full access into the building. A screen appeared on her arm, and her intelligent blue eyes danced across it, her fingers moving quicker then humanly possible. "I have gained authority to all systems."

"Block the cameras."

"Copy." Ina responded, her fingers resuming their tapping motion. "Cameras have frozen on their current position. Guards will only have visual on a certain area, but the view will be stopped."

"Thanks, Leif." James nodded, glancing around the corner. "Let's move in."

They walked as silently as they could, Ina tapping on her screen and making sure that their way was clear.

Nadia lead the way, looking both ways before motioning the all-clear.

Ina tagged behind her, gently correcting her path if she began to drift down the wrong hall.

James was after her, keeping his rifle at the ready in case of danger.

Ryan brought up the rear, his scythe gleamed in the purple light.

"Ina." James finally hissed, glancing at their surroundings. "Are we going the right way?"

She looked at him, mouth set in a tight line. "Our path is not bringing us to the brig."

"What?" James growled, remembering to keep his voice low. "Then where are we going?"

Ina glancing back at him carelessly, not responding.

"Have faith in her." Ryan reminded him, a disapproving look in his eye as he planted a hand across James's shoulder.

"The information to gain access into the prison is crucial." Ina told them, glancing down the next hallway.

"Let me guess, more facial recognition?"

"Negative." Ina blinked. "There is a code arrangement to gain access, and it can be collected in the control room."

"How are we going to get in without setting off the security system?" James asked, crouching behind her as she paused, peeking into the control room.

Nadia had positioned herself on the other side of the door, looking in ad well. "Leave it to me." She smirked, cocking her energy pistol. It hummed with power, and she stepped into the room. Six shots with deadly aim, and the life support packs on each suit of armor as well as the neck joints were punctured, each of the two guards toppling over. Unconscious or dead, they couldn't tell.

"Done." Nadia beamed.

"It is quite unusual that you didn't feel morally conflicted about this." Ina frowned, stepping over the nearest body gingerly.

"These guys took over our planet." Nadia frowned, looking down at her kill. "They eliminated half of the occupants, with no mercy. They kidnapped the Paladins and infected them. They deserve no less. Besides, we've been blowing up each prison with people still inside. You mean none of you even considered we were already killing them?"

Ryan tilted his head, silently urging them to continue with the mission.

Ina plugged her gauntlet into the central control board, carefully searching the databanks.

"The information has been added to my anthology."

"You do realize that's not the correct use of the word, right?" James asked, peeking over her shoulders.

Ina shrugged, unplugging the screen. "It is close enough."

"We need to move." Nadia prompted. "It's only a matter of time until the Atlas gets worried and breaks radio silence or sends Veronica down. And we all know she's worse at stealth then me!"

James chuckled lightly at her announcement, agreeing with her. While one might make the conjecture that Veronica could sneak around pretty easily, which was her normal disposition, she tended to become a bit…louder when she got mad or worried.

And if she was eager to return to Lance's side, like she probably would be, she would become fierce, similar to a lioness protecting her cub(s).

"That's certainly true." James grinned, turning to Ina to make sure she was ready to leave.

Ina nodded, and they departed, locking the door behind them.

The four avoided the patrols easily, for Captain Shirogane had taught everyone the pattern of the sentries so that they would be prudent in their safety.

After quite a bit of walking, they finally arrived at the cell, Ina entering the code to open the doors instantly, frowning as they creaked, rather loudly, open.

She ushered them inside, stopping suddenly in horror as a hauntingly steep drop spawned in front of them, Nadia nearly losing her footing.

Ryan grabbed her in the nick of time, frowning in his usual disposition at the inky blackness.

"Leif." James shuddered, looking in worry at Nadia, eyebrows furrowing. "Is this supposed to be here?"

Ina noticed the hand railing encircling it and the tiny gaps in between a few of the fences. It was one of those gaps that Nadia had nearly tripped over.

Ina approached one, spotting the ladder rungs that stretched down as far as she could see.

She had a feeling that it didn't stretch too far, but her eyes hadn't adjusted yet, so that was why it was so distant.

"Yes, this is purposeful. There's a ladder stretched across the wall."

"So does that mean Hunk could have escaped?" James perked up, crossing over to her.

Ina gently began to ease her weight upon it, finally shaking her head when it began to creak and rattle. "It would not support his weight."

Ryan and Nadia approached, eyeing it curiously.

"Kinkade, if it hardly support Leifsdottir, it won't support you. You'll have to stay up here." James decided, looking apologetically at his friend.

Ryan shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

The other three were quick to scale the ladder, climbing down until they could see the floor. Then they jumped, landing on their feet.

The stood still for a moment or two, allowing their eyes to properly adjust.

After about twenty seconds, a tiny groan reached their ears and they all snapped to attention, searching for the source of the sound.

It was another thirty seconds until they were able to find the person who had moaned.

Hunk was leaning against the wall, one leg drawn to his chest as he held the other, broken one. His eyes were shut, but his hands moved, stroking the knee of the injured leg.

"Hunk!" Nadia was beside him in a split second, Ina and James close behind.

They thanked God inaudibly that he was awake, they might have a better chance of getting him out now.

He blinked his eyes opened at Nadia's voice, eyes wavering in fear. When he found the trio gazing at him, Hunk sagged in relief, a smile encompassing his face.

"Hey, buddy. How're you?"

Hunk smiled a bit bigger, presenting them with a thumbs-up.

"Alright, we're going to need to get out outta here." James told him, glancing around.

"The ladder will not support his weight." Ina frowned, looking at the incline.

"And his leg wouldn't do much in helping or anything." Nadia sighed. It didn't take more then a simple glance to tell what state his limb was in. "Any ideas on how to get out, Hunk?"

Hunk pointed, his brown eyes half-shut from exhaustion.

They pivoted collectively, expecting to see a way out, but found, to their despair, nothing but a blank wall.

A question was on their faces when they turned back to Hunk, but he motioned them to go towards it.

Ina was the first to the wall, and she instantly began to do physical tests with it. She pressed her ear against the metal wall and knocked with her fist gently. "It's hollow!" She gapped in surprise. "There may be an escape route within."

James turned back to Hunk, grinning confidently.

Elevator, Hunk mouthed, still smiling gingerly, still content.

"Kinkade!" James shouted up, waiting for his friend's stoic face to appear over the railing. "Is there an elevator up there?"

There was a few minutes of silence, then Ryan looked back down, the dark shape that represented his body shrugging. "There's a control pad up here next to a metal box. It could be an elevator, I suppose."

"Leif, go up and work your magic. Kinkade, Leifsdottir is coming up."

Ryan nodded, vanishing from James' view once more.

"Nadia and I will try to get you over to the doors, Hunk." James told him, approaching the man. Hunk was a bit skinnier then he remembered, but it must have been from lack of food.

Hunk nodded sadly, pushing himself up against the wall and standing, wincing at the movement.

James and Nadia were by his side instantly, allowing him to use them as support as he tottered along, putting no weight on his injured leg.

About the same time they arrived at the elevator, the two panels on the wall disguising it buzzed open, Ina and Ryan stepping out.

They were upon the trio instantly, Ryan taking James's place on the side Hunk's injured leg was on, the left. Ina took Nadia's side.

They entered the elevator quickly, choosing the 'up' button.

"Is this…elevator music?" Nadia's nose scrunched as a gentle tune played, wafting through the air.

"The sound was also pervading the elevator on the path down." Ina informed them, shifting Hunk's arm around her shoulders gently.

The elevator finally hummed open, the music dying down.

Hunk moaned slightly as they left the cell, blinking back the harsh prison lights.

Gently, his rescuers switched positions again, Ryan and Ina rubbing their sore arms.

This time, Ina led the way, her top-notch brain acting up and leading them past security without having to look at her screen.

"We must travel a bit further." She told Hunk when it was once again her turn to support him.

He hummed gently, nodding.

"Did the Galra mess with your voice or something?" James asked.

Nadia shot him a look, probably trying to warn him not to be insensitive.

Hunk, however, didn't seem to notice and looked back at James, sadly smiling. Yes. They had.

James scowled, glaring at nothing. Nadia was right; these guys deserved death. They messed with his family, his friends, his country, his nation, his planet. They had death coming for them; they deserved nothing less.

He pushed back the wave of pity rising in his gut, and foraged onward.

* * *

The tiny, hovering medical drone hovered, poking Hunk's neck as it gently sewed his voice box together delicately without breaking his skin.

His family sat nearby, his mother one one side, father on the other. Each cradled one of his younger realities in their arms, his uncle and aunt and older sister sitting on the chairs lining the wall.

Hunk was still awake, doing his best not to move too much as the medical drone milled about his head, clicking and whirring.

Eventually, the drone backed off, beeping in pleasure.

"Hunk?" His mother leaned forward, placing her hands over his. "Are you okay, baby?"

Hunk stopped to cough slightly, blinking at her tiredly. "Y-yeah…I-I'm f-fi-fine…" his voice came out raspy, cracked from no use.

"Are you sure?" His father wrapped his massive arms around his son, frowning at him.

Hunk nodded, tears of exhaustion prickling his eyes. "I-I'mm goo-good. H-how're th-the o-others?"

"Lance and Keith are doing well." His sister, a nurse, informed him, leaned forward, smiling, and petting his hair. "You have nothing to worry about."

"A-Allura?" Hunk whimpered, blinking at his sister nervously. "P-Pidg-ge?"

"We'll be getting them in the next couple of days. Don't worry about it, all will be fine." His mother tightened her grip around his hands, smiling kindly. "You must be so tired, hon. You should rest."

"I w-wanna h-help."

"You're still recovering, Hunk. You know you should listen to your mother." His father sighed, rather forcefully prompting his son to lie down. "We'll wake you up as soon as we get them back, sound good?"

Hunk hesitated for a moment, before nodding, his cheek rubbing against the pillow at the movement. When he fell asleep, hardly two minutes later, the group turned to the doorway, beaming at the man -Shiro - leaning against the frame, bags under his eyes.

"He'll be fine." Hunk's sister assured him, smiling.

And he would be.

They would be.

They had to be.

* * *

 **Please Read & Review! It'll mean a lot to me.**


	4. Delta Traz

**Author's note; …I can't do injured Allura.**

* * *

Allura was hardly aware of anything. All she knew was that her energy was at an all-time low.

The Galra kept a tube to her arm filtering her quintessence into a storage unit on the other side of the wall.

She had tried innumerable times to summon it all back, but the machine was stronger then she was. It continued pulled, extracted quintessence from her body. She knew she was withering away, she could feel the lines of age pulling at her face. She would touch her face timidly as she felt the life leave it, sleep dragging her under.

While she slept, they would take away the machine and plug her to the IV, letting the rest and nutrients recover her dying body.

Then, when she blinked her eyes open, they would plug her back up.

It felt like she died, again and again.

But she didn't. She hovered on the brink of her demise, and then they would restore her.

She hated them so much.

She hoped against hope that her friends would save her.

* * *

"Remember," James reminded his team, glancing at Veronica. He was quite surprised she had decided to leave her brother's side to come on this mission, but it probably had to do with the fact the woman who would most help her brother recover was here. "We're aiming for silence, again, because it worked so well with Hunk."

The three females, and Ryan, nodded in agreement, his closest companions saluting.

"Alright, let's go." James stepped into the Galra hall, Ina managing to yank him back before a patrol of sentries spotted him.

"You're lacking your usual watchfulness." She teased, though a smile didn't appear on her lips.

"Yeah…" this time, James was cautious as he peaked around the hall, the sentries heels just disappearing around a bend. He turned around, waving them on quietly.

The five crept down the hallway, sparing the sentries a worried glance.

They were, so far, doing quite well, dodging patrols.

It looked like they might make it to the cell and back without triggering everything.

And then James stepped into a hallway, the classic red beam blinking angrily as his foot landed between it.

WHAMP WHAMP WHAMP WHAMP

"Holy-!" Nadia cried, jumping back. "What triggered that?!"

James glanced down and frowned at the laser beam, sighing. "Sorry, that's on me."

Ina opened her mouth probably to explain something about the emission spectrum of the beam, but Veronica grabbed the back of her suit to remind her about the present situation, and threw her suitcase onto the ground.

"You still have that?!" Nadia yelped, blinking.

"Yep. James, Ina, Nadia, you go get Allura. Kinkade, you and I are going to take out any sentries that happen this way."

Kinkade flexed his muscles, smirking. "With pleasure."

Veronica grabbed the two handles sprouting from the machine gun, waving them on with her head. "The sooner you go, the quicker we can leave."

Ina and James pivoted immediately, having to break Nadia out of her awed trance.

The took off in a steady run, dodging around hallways.

A flood of sentries stepped into the open, and Ina through a electro-magnetic pulse, overriding their systems.

They continued running, panting with anger when another group of sentries showed up.

"We'll have to fight our way through." Ina prompted, messing with her pockets. "I possess a single grenade that I am saving up for later."

"Right." James sighed.

"Now for the fun part." Nadia chuckled, withdrawing her pistols and firing three clean shots, one through each sentry's head.

Honestly, James was shocked that they hadn't properly attacked before then, all the robots had done was rush them, not even raising her gins.

James slid under the legs of the last two, jamming the rifle into the spine of one and kicking the last into the ground as Ina electrocuted it.

Ina bent down, fiddling with the final one's head.

"Leif! We need to get moving!"

Ina didn't respond, burrowing deeper into the core of the robot, finally withdrawing a chip. "This has much information that may come in handy in future missions. Perhaps when we recollect Pidge, she and I can-"

"Leifsdottir!" James jerked her to her feet, pulling her along. "I'm glad tech makes you so happy, but we gotta get going."

Ina obeyed, clutching the flash drive so hard her hand trembled.

"We need your map." James ordered at a crossroad, glancing at his girlfriend.

"Left."

"Hear that, Rizavi?"

"My radio isn't broken." Nadia hissed.

"Really? You didn't speak between our sentences, like usual."

"I can keep silent sometimes." Nadia sniffed offensively.

"Rare." James coughed, turning his head away from her face so that she couldn't see his beaming expression.

"Ouch." Nadia feigned being hurt, stabbing an invisible knife to her chest, but didn't break her pace.

"Right." Ina ordered.

"I'm just saying, silence isn't a thing that comes naturally, but at least I can keep silent sometimes, and can actually talk frequently unlike Kin…" her voice drifted off, spotting the single guard planted in the middle of their destination, cell doors thrown open.

The guard wouldn't normally prove a threat, but his gun was trained on a helpless Allura's head, her powder blue locks strewn against the floor as she lay there, unmoving.

"…kade." She finished softly, staring in horror.

Ina made a step forward, but James stuck out his arm, stopping her.

The Galra must have headed to the cell the moment the alarms had sounded, for he looked quite bored. The moment he spotted them, he stiffened, narrowing yellow eyes. "Not a step closer, or else the princess gets it." He barked, glaring at the trio of young heroes.

They all paused, Ina even retreating three steps.

"Now, put down your weapons." He hissed, glaring at them.

Nadia eased down, putting both energy pistols on the ground. James followed a bit more slowly, and Ina copied him.

She unlatched the gauntlet on her wrist, carefully putting it down. She took longer then usual to take it off, and only those who knew her well would know she had a plan. James and Nadia noticed the grey sphere she pulled from her pocket.

Ina gently armed it, glancing pointedly at the room beside them.

They followed her gaze, noticing in the storage closet that there was a huge vat containing something they had come to recognize as quintessence, and they could only guess who owned the liquid.

Ina rolled the grenade to the side, towards the tub.

"If you're quite finished laying down your weapons, I advise you stand up.

The trio obeyed, standing up with a jolt. All of them activated their shields at exactly the moment the grenade went off, shattering the bat and sending shrapnel every which way.

The Galra jumped in surprise, though he was clear of the blast. He blinked in surprise at the cadets, narrowing his eyes. "What was that?!"

The MFE pilots were confused on how he was so oblivious to the quintessence surrounding him and beginning to seep into Allura's skin.

Allura's blue eyes alit with fury, her hand reaching up and, in a swift movement, grabbed the barrel of the gun and bending it before the Galra could comprehend what was happening.

"Hey-" the Galra began, but Allura had already ripped the gun from his hand, entire body glowing with a sinister blue energy.

The MFEs could have blinked and missed it, but Allura had lashed out her leg, tripping the Galra soldier. She had flung herself to her feet, the entire glow transporting itself to her fists, all her excess power would be put behind the blow.

Allura brought her hands down upon the Galra, screaming something incoherently.

Whether it be in Altean or English, none of them could tell.

The Galra withered for seven seconds, before his entire body wilted away into ash.

"P-princess?" James asked, fighting back the tremor in his voice as he scooped up the rifle, his teammates doing the same as they looked in shock at the princess.

The woman turned on him, eyes burning with fury, but the ridge in between her eyebrows smoothed when she saw who it was.

"Griffen." She greeted him, smiling gently.

"Allura, we need to get out of here." Nadia said, looking at her in admiration. "Can you run?"

Allura sniffed, as if offended. "Of course."

"Alright, I…" James looked her up and down. "You look relatively uninjured compared to the others."

"You've seen the others? Are they alright? We shouldn't have left like that…"

"Yeah, they're all good. Com'n, Allura." James gestured to her, still a bit surprised by her good condition.

She followed them eagerly, keeping pace with ease. "So," she said between steps. "Lance. How's he?"

"He's been better." James puffed.

Allura nodded, as if that cleared up everything. "Not…dead?"

"Nope. Alive." James responded. "Leif?"

"Right." Leif didn't even glance at the map.

Soon enough, the sounds of fighting broke the silence, and Allura winced, her steps becoming more slow from no use. She was stumbling ever few steps and was getting quite tired.

They broke into the hallway that had triggered the alarm, instantly spotting Ryan ripping five sentries in half with a scythe, and Veronica taking down several other robots best she could as she constantly reloaded new ammo dishes into the machine gun.

Ryan instantly spotted them, pulling his scythe from the stomach of a robot. He approached them, putting away his weapon and scoping up Allura bridal style, yelling at Veronica that the others had arrived.

Then the six tore through the battlefield, urging their legs to move more quickly.

* * *

Allura stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling quite tired. Coran and Romelle had been excessively dotting upon her every movement, and it had gotten on her nerves, so she had sent them out.

So now she was lonely. It was all she could do to fight unconsciousness. She knew she was safe, she did, but a distant voice told her the moment she fell asleep, the moment they would begin to prepare her for the next progression of torture.

A knock on her door, different from Coran's signature knock, filtered into the room, and she stiffened, shifting herself to face the door.

"Come in." She called, propping herself up on her elbows.

The door opened quietly, Shiro stepping in. He looked more rested then he had when she had first arrived, and for that she was thankful. She wouldn't have been able to handle it if he beat himself up letting them get hurt.

But it was who he was bringing with him that made her sit up with attention.

"Lance!" She gasped, spreading her arms out wide. Shiro set the boy in her arms gently, the Red Paladin clinging onto her like she was his only hold on life.

"'Llura." He wept, burying his head in her neck. "'Llura."

"I'm sorry." Shiro said gently, smiling sadly. "I normally would ask, but he's been so desperate to see you ever since we recovered him two days ago. He would have gotten you next, but Hunk's prison was closer, and-"

"It's fine." Allura assured him, putting her hand gently against the back of Lance's head. "I've been needing this, too."

Lance shuddered against her, tightening his grip a little more as his sobs began to disappear.

"Is he coherent?" Allura asked, realizing he was acting a bit…unusual.

"He's got quite a few concussions." Shiro told her, frowning at Lance sadly. "He's only said you name this entire time."

"Oh." Allura whispered softly as Lance recited her name gently. Her hand wove into his, and he squeezed, pulling back gently, a touch of a familiar light back in his gaze.

"Shiro…" Allura began doubtfully, looking at the man. "Can he…can he rest in here tonight?"

Shiro hesitated, before nodding knowingly. "I'll bring in a mattress for him."

"Thank you." Allura looked at Lance as Shiro left, stroking his hair. "It'll be alright, Lance. Don't worry."

Lance stared into her eyes, smiling dimly. "I know." He murmured, his first words beside Allura since his capture.

* * *

 **Read and Review, please!**


	5. Epsilon Traz

**My headcannon is that Ina is from Iceland, because Leifsdottir is a Icelandic last name. My father told me this.**

 **GracieHoltPidgeon from Wattpad suggested the plant-part of Pidge's prison, and XxShyxX from AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) asked about Shiro saving her solo. Then magic happened. Thank you to these two wonderful reviewers!**

* * *

Pidge could hardly breathe.

Actually, she never could.

It seemed like such a distant memory of being able to take a breath of nice, clean air that wasn't always polluted and choking her up.

Her cell was filled with combinations of plant growth.

The Galra had tested her blood and discovered that some humans have unusual reactions to certain growths, and also figured out that she was almost deadly allergic to some planets native to one of their conquered planets. So guess what? They decided it was a good idea to put their pollen in the air of her prison.

She couldn't breathe, but she could still hack her way out, right?

The air was also quite humid. Every two minutes, sprinklers would activate and push down rain on top of her. She knew it was so that, if she ever somehow got her hand on tech, it would be destroyed within the first five minutes of her having it.

But perhaps escaping was still a possibility?

Unfortunately, it wasn't as if she could work the tech even if there wasn't sprinklers. They had cut the tendons in each hand, rendering the fingers useless. Pidge sometimes stared at her hands, the fingers hanging limply from the palms, and wished for the ability to use them again.

Maybe, though, she could still escape…?

When they cut her left arm so badly that it felt like it was only hanging by a thread, then tethered it shut with a tourniquet so that it couldn't get any blood circulation that she gave up completely on trying to escape. All she could do was sit here and await death.

Perhaps it would come quickly. Or perhaps she would linger for several more years.

Whatever length of time it was, she was tired. Really, really tired…

* * *

Shiro accompanied the MFEs again. (He didn't say why, but admittedly, it was pretty easy to guess.)

They were attacked almost immediately. Somehow the Galra realized they were coming and had cut them off, the warden, three other flesh-and-blood guards, and about four dozen sentries standing guard to the hanger.

The Sphinx Squadrons' Pilots leaped out, three falling instantly thanks to the battalion of lasers launched from the guns.

"Jonathan, Trenton, Penny!" Ina sobbed out their names, rage beginning to fill her voice.

James's eyes hardened, gripping his rifle tightly. Three soldiers. Dead. They didn't have to check for a pulse to know this. The shots had went straight through their heads.

"Griffen…? What should we do?" Nadia's chocked voice filtered through the coms, the pilots of the Sphinx Squadron latching their shields together to stop any more of them from dying.

The quadruple force, still in the MFEs, watched the fight with fierce anticipation, anger filling their chest.

"Shiro," James twisted in his seat, staring at his captain evenly. "Ina will accompany you to get your Pidge. The rest of us will hold these guys back."

Shiro nodded curtly, staring at the advancing force of pilots. They weren't trained to be soldiers, just to fly ships and to follow the commands of their young generals. They were meant to play defense in case a catastrophe happened, but never offense. But they were ready to avenge their friends with eerie determination when the time came.

This wasn't the best battlefield, Shiro realized after a cursory search. But to the Galra, it was ideal to destroy their enemies.

He looked at James, they young man's eyes cold and calculating. "Are you sure?"

"They killed Ina's crew." James eyes narrowed, seeming not to notice that he had used his girlfriend's first name while on a mission, which was highly restricted. Shiro didn't mention it though. "They're going to pay."

Shiro nodded once, then the cockpit slid open, and the four main pilots jumped into the open, snarling ferociously.

"Leifsdottir, accompany Captain Shirogane!" James ordered, motioning at her from across the room.

Ina's blue eyes searched his as she rushed over, and she presented him with a salute as she accepted the order.

"Rizavi, Kinkade, on me!" James growled, and the two obeyed.

Ryan divided up his double-bladed scythe into two weapons, a disapproving scowl set upon his face.

Nadia charged up her pistol, setting her jaw as she gave a two-fingered salute.

James nodded at Ina, and she departed, Shiro on her heel.

They went in the opposite direction from the door, where the battle was - for the most part - raging.

For a moment, confusion pervaded Shiro's consciousness, until Ina crouched next to the wall, beside a ventilation shaft that was big enough for even Shiro to fit through.

She began to undo the hinges on it with her guantlet, eyes fierce as she undid the last screw.

A blood-curdling scream surfaced her attention, and she turned her attention to the battle field, her face stilling in horror as another of her soldiers fell, several blackened marks around his vital areas.

"Leifsdottir." Shiro reminded her, blocking her view with his body.

She blinked at him, sadness washing over her usually bland features as she turned back, ripping the panel from the vent.

Pulling back from her handiwork, she motioned for Shiro to go in first.

He obeyed, his floating hand hovering several feet in front of him, the lights decorating the forearm lighting the way.

Ina was small enough that she could turn around to pull the covering back on, and she did so, plummeting them into darkness save the soft glow from Shiro's arm.

Ina followed him closely, checking her map of the base every few seconds.

After about a minute, she tapped the left side of the vent and stopped.

He understood and paused, looking back over his shoulder at her.

She turned to the left slightly and began to take off another cover from the inside, eyes shimmering in gentle gleam of light.

She got it undone and pushed it down gently, both of them wincing automatically as it clattered on the metal floor. Luckily, the battle was loud enough that it was inaudible to the enemies.

Just as Shiro left the shaft, another scream of a dying pilot pierced the air.

Ina's fists tightened into a knot, closing her eyes for a brief moment. She murmured a soft prayer in Icelandic. " _Megi Guð leiða leið þína eins og þú stígur upp í ríki hans._ "

Shiro peaked around the nearest corner, finding himself staring at the back of the Galra Commander.

He nearly attacked him right away, had Ina not touched his arm, gently shaking her head.

Shiro nodded, understanding the silent statement.

Attacking the Commander head on might cause more harm then healing. The plan was to get Pidge, then get out. They couldn't risk messing it up.

Treading along the ground as softly as they could, the two turned their backs on the Galra and crept down the halls, expertly dodging security cameras.

Shiro felt a tugging in his gut, urging him forward. They had to hurry. The more pilots died, the more families would mourn. The smaller the Sphinx Squadron would become, the slimmer the chance of surviving was.

Once they were out of ear-shot, the two, in an unspoken agreement, launched into a run, ducking underneath cameras and destroying sparse guards with the smack of the hand or flip of the wrist.

They had paused for a moment, panting for breath, when a garrison of Galra troops started down the same hallway, approaching them. They must be reinforcements for the Galra attacking the Sphinx Squadron.

"I cannot allow them to destroy more of my followers." Ina hissed, activating her gantlet. "You shall have to travel alone to the cell," she handed him a small chip to plug into his suit, "this contains the map."

"We should stick together." Shiro protested, shaking his head.

"Yes." Ina agreed. "We should, but we will not. Come back when you have recovered Pidge." and then she was in the open, tackling the Galra.

Man, she reminded him of Pidge so much.

Shiro passed the Galra as if a shadow, watching as they tried to bring Ina down, but failed as the young woman burst from their midsts time and time again.

Yeah, he really didn't have to worry.

Then Shiro was running again, worried what had become of the youngest Paladin.

Three guards stood before her cell, and he wasted no time with taking them down, inwardly relieved they were nothing like Sendak in skills.

He forced the door open, instantly gasping in shock as a few white clumps of…something passed by his head. Pollen, maybe?

Shiro stepped in, frowning at the ankle-deep water that splashed at his heels. What in the-?

Suddenly a shower of water rained down, wetting his hair. He spluttered for a moment, unsure of where it was coming from. After half a minute it slowed to a steady drip. Looking up, his eyes found the tiny grey bulge on the ceiling. Recognizing it as a sprinkler.

Hmm.

He continued walking, using the light from the doorway to guide him. However, the purple light wasn't very powerful and stopped within the first five meters, and he was walking blindly. That probably explained why he tripped.

A whimper that wasn't his immediately filtered out, and he bristled, turning around and feeling about until he felt the thing he had tripped on.

"Pidge?" He asked, finding her legs and arms and putting his arm around her shoulders and his floating arm underneath her feet. "Pidge? Pidge?!"

The silence was nerve wracking, and Shiro shuddered, holding her a bit closer to his chest as he stood.

"Katie!" He hissed, shaking her gently by setting his floating arm to vibrate.

"Nnngh…" she moaned gently, her body holding painstakingly still.

Shiro carried her out of the room, forcing himself to look down at her.

Her face was slightly blue from lack of oxygen - pollen, of course, Shiro realized as he mentally slapped himself - and her left arm was hanging limply, a purple cloth wrapped around the shoulder cutting off the blood circulation. Her arm looked deathly pale; Shiro doubted there'd be a pulse in there if he checked. And her fingers hung limply. Too limply, even for someone unconscious. It almost looked like…

Quiznaking Galra.

Shiro sped up, ignoring the tiny groans that Pidge emanated with every movement.

Ina suddenly turned around a hall, almost colliding with him. They both managed to veer off at the last moment, Ina pivoting to change direction.

"The Galra?" Shiro asked between puffs.

"Dead." Ina assured him, glaring. "Surprisingly, I do not feel morally conflicted. Rizavi was correct in that aspect; it was satisfying."

Shiro just nodded gravely, keeping up his pace.

Pidge whined a little louder, and he shushed her, trying to ignore his trembling jaw.

The sounds of a battle washed over them, and they slowed, exchanging a look.

"Watch over her." Shiro ordered, resting Pidge next to Ina. "I'm going to take care of the Commander."

Ina gestured for him to go, understanding now his need to destroy, opening her pocket-sized first aid kit.

Shiro forced himself to ignore the women, focusing instead on the sounds of screams and metal-hitting metal.

Three turns, and he was facing the Commander's back. Six steps, and he was jumping. Seven milliseconds and suddenly his feet were grinding themselves into the Commander's back, the Galra letting out a roar of surprise.

The Commander spins around, and Shiro's lucky enough that he's already springing backwards, landing on the ground on his feet as the Galra bellows.

The sentries are occupied with the Sphinx Squadron and the MFEs, they don't have time to pay attention to the intruder.

Shiro, being smaller than the Galra, slipped underneath all his attacks easily, punching the brute in the face multiple times.

Finally, his floating hand finds its way to the Galra's neck, and he feels all the strong bones shatter underneath the blow from the steel fist.

The Commander sinks to his knees before collapsing head-on into the ground.

But Shiro ignored him, taking care of the sentries who don't have time to watch him.

However, the Sphinx Squadron are the ones to take care of the last few.

The remaining members pull their fallen, and injured, friends into their backseat, sending their co-pilots to the other ships to fly them back.

"Captain Shirogane, thank goodness." James greeted him, approaching cautiously. "Sir, eleven were lost, and many more injured. Captain, we can't risk another mission like this. We can't loose eleven to save one."

"I know." Shiro looked at the corpses, squeezing his eyes shut. "If I can help it, there won't be a 'next time'."

"It helps that this is the last Paladin to be saved." James nodded, pursing his lips, his eyes lighting up in realization. "Speaking of, where is Pidge? A-and Leif?"

Shiro perked up, remembering suddenly that he still had yet to retrieve them. "They're down the hall." He informed James, the two pivoting to go to the smart women.

Ina raised her head the instant they appeared, nodding without smiling. "How many?" She asked James, hefting Pidge up into her arms before passing her on to Shiro.

"Eleven. And thirteen more were injured."

"Eleven." Ina squeezed her eyes shut, nodding gently. "That's a fifth of my fleet."

"Yeah." James agreed.

"We need to get back." Shiro told them, squeezing Pidge tightly. "We can grieve later."

The two, despite still gazing sadly at each other, agreed grimly following him back to the hanger.

* * *

The doctors had immediately taken Pidge from Shiro, rushing her into the operation room.

Despite there being a window, Shiro had no wish to watch them preform surgery on her. (This first time he had watched surgery, with Lance, he had nearly barfed.)

So there was nothing he could do but sit outside the hospital room.

"You should rest." The voice from

above made him jump in surprise, and he looked up into the half-breed's gaze.

"Hello, Acxa. I thought you were with Keith."

"I was. But he wasn't waking up and Krolia's bad at small talk." Acxa frowned. "So I thought I should check on you. Commander Holt and Coran both pointed out that you have been staying up as much as you can these past three weeks, and that's a load of KC if you ask me."

"KC?" Shiro inquired. In all his space travel he hadn't heard the phrase.

He wasn't sure if she was just lying in wait in the bend or if she was just happening by, but Nadia suddenly peaked in from the bend in the hallway, calling out "Kentucky Chicken!" And then she was gone.

Acxa glared after her for a moment, then turned back to Shiro. "Klanmürl Chrock."

"I'm going to assume that isn't very appropriate." Shiro blinked.

"Definitely not. Last time I used it, Coran gave me a lecture about watching my language. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. The point is, you're an idiot for torturing yourself. They're all okay, and you can't go one without sleep. It isn't healthy."

"I used to get after Pidge for the same thing." Shiro chuckled, shaking his head. "The thing is, Acxa, I can't rest. Not until I'm positive they'll all be fine."

"I didn't want to do this." Acxa sighed, shaking her head. She pulled out a vial of purple liquid, which bubbled and foamed. "You don't want to know what this is."

"It's a sedative, isn't it?"

"Commander Holt told me to use this against you if you don't head his commands."

Shiro opened his mouth to protest, but Acxa slapped a hand to his mouth. "You are not going to argue. Go to bed on your own, or I will grab you by the Yulschtrix, and DRAG you to your quarters through all of the main halls."

She broke off of her tirade to inhale.

Shiro looked curiously at her, tilting her head.

"I will use this." Acxa finished, holding up the vial.

"Get me the moment they're done with the surgery." Shiro ordered, frowning at her.

"No promises." Acxa said, walking over to the window to look in.

Shiro hesitated for a few more moments, then nodded, trudging slowly to his room.

* * *

 **One more chapter after this, so stayed tuned!**

 **May I just point out how they're all miraculously alive? Like, seriously. In real life, Keith woulda died from Hyperthermia and Allura would have died because she has no energy, and the other three would be from** **infection.**

 **BUT THEY'RE ALIVE, HALLELUJAH!**

 **(Please Read an' Review)**


	6. Road to Recovery

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEITH!**

* * *

Keith sat in the middle of the group, wrapped in at least fifteen blankets, his head resting on Hunk's shoulder, his eyes opening and closing periodically.

Hunk, while his voice box had been healed, still had a scratchy voice, unable to say anything without putting a strain, no matter how small, on his vocal cords.

Keith, still cold even after a week, was constantly wrapped in blankets. Ina had suggested grouping all of the Paladins together for a time, because the body heat would help warm him up.

Allura and Lance, still holding hands, relaxed on Keith's other side.

Ever since Allura and been rescued, they refused to let go of each other for more then five minutes.

Allura was regaining quintessence, slowly but surely. With Lance, it seemed to go quicker, her love for him sparking more life inside her.

While his concussions healed, so did Lance's memory. Though he faltered in a few things, he was remembering more and more, but Allura's name was still the main thing he said, the love strong in his gaze.

Shiro leaned heavily against Keith's back, Pidge curled into a tiny ball in his lap, knees drawn to her chest and one arm wrapped around her legs as the other lay in front of her face. She opened and closed her hand, staring numbly at the fingers clenching and unclenching.

"So." Shiro said after ten minutes of them basking in each other's presence. "Are we gonna talk about what happened?"

All of the other five instinctively jerked away from him, eyes wide in horror. Yeah, they were definitely not going to talk about it.

"I meant are we going to talk about how you got captured?" Shiro corrected himself, understanding their pain from Galra imprisonment.

Everyone relaxed back into their previous positions, still looking uncertain, but their expressions seemed a bit better.

"A-alright." Keith shivered, blowing part of his mullet out of his face. "F-first of all-all…w-we're sssssorry f-for leaving with-without y-your permisssssssion."

"It's fine." Shiro said.

"We heard," Allura began, taking up the story, "that a certain base had information about Haggar, Base Scariff, if you will. It needed to be a stealth mission, and Keith-" pause for a moment as she sent her leader a pointed look "-was worried that you would insist coming along, or at least send along the MFEs, and we figured we needed a smaller group."

"Pidge was getting a lot of information," Lance muttered, shrinking down low into the few quilts pressing against his skin, "and I thought everything was going well. We all did…but then the alarms…" he shuddered, closing his arms and burying his face into his knees.

As a collective group, all five let out a low whine, shaking. The alarms obviously was the part where they freaked out and knew they were going to be captured.

"Th-the ceiling…" Pidge sobbed, curling up as tight as she could. "It fell down, it fell down on us…"

Shiro held her closer, his floating arm going across the room to bring a few hot drinks from the counter across the room to them. It was great to be the captain of a ship, be able to put a room on lockdown except to precious few, and to have a floating arm.

Each of the Paladins took the drink thankfully, and Pidge pulled herself into a sitting position, gapping with awe as her fingers tightened around the mug's handle.

Shiro wondered how long she had spent in the cell worrying that she'd never feel her fingers again…

Keith sipped quietly on his hot chocolate, inhaling sharply.

"We w-were crushed-d u-u-under the roof-f f-for a-about h-half a varga…"

"Th-the Galra ripped the roof off of ussssss and pulled ussss out, too quickly for usssss to move." Hunk hissed, rubbing the piece of his neck where his voice box sat.

"We were pulled apart instantly…" Allura moaned, shivering. "Transported us to different ships…the last thing we saw of each other was of us calling to each other, yelling, and…then the Galra knocked us out in a collective blow. We didn't dare call out lions for fear that the Galra would capture them with the new technology on their ships…"

"The lions." Pidge croaked, her eyes stretching wide in fear. "D-did you retrieve them?"

"Yes. We have Hunk to thank." Shiro smiled. At the others' confused looks, he explained. "He left us a note in the mainframe, so if you didn't return by the time we awoke, we could go find you. The lions were well hidden, I'll admit. We had to use a scanner to find their signatures under the water."

"Red hated that." Lance reflected, giggling hysterically. He was a bit…out of it.

"I-I'm ssssssure h-he-he d-d-did." Keith shivered, smiling gently.

They stayed silent for a bit, thinking about what had happened.

"Guys," Shiro began, breaking the blissful silence. "If you ever want to talk about anything with me or each other, remember that you can. We've all gone through similar experiences."

All five nodded collectively, though they still looked hesitant and worried.

The door opened a few ticks later, and all six heads turned, spotting Ina standing there.

She was dressed in black, for mourning her followers, but her face displayed to trace of mourning. "Apologizes, Paladins. But it is of the upmost importance that I address a subject with Shiro in solitude."

"I'll be back shortly." Shiro told the others, boosting himself to his feet.

"Bye, Shiro." They all chimed in eerie unison, a couple waving in farewell.

"What is it, Leifsdottir?" Shiro asked once they were safely in her lab, which was often shared with Pidge.

"This." Ina held up a tiny, grey chip, no further explanation needed.

"I thought you destroyed this." Shiro took the chip from her hand, carefully looking it over. When they had headed over to Base Scariff after the Paladins had gone missing, they had managed to retrieve this chip from the ruins of the computer mainframe. It was from this that they extracted the information of the map and layout of the five Trazes, as well as the coordinates of their position.

After the Paladins had been rescued, Shiro had assumed Ina had crushed it, destroying the last bit of evidence - besides memories and physical and mental wounds - that the prisons had ever existed.

"I imagined you might yearn to demolish the micro-chip." Ina shrugged, answering his question.

Shiro blinked at her in stunned surprise. She was right; he had wanted to destroy it with his own hands, to ensure that his friends would never be hurt again.

But how did Ina know he wanted to?

"You were right." Shiro admits, crushing the chip in his hand.

And with it, he destroyed all remaining possibility of his friends getting hurt in such gruesome ways.

Never again. He would never let it happen again.

Never again.

No, because they were all safe. And he'd make sure they stayed that way.


End file.
